Things Unnoticed
by Psylockeyuki
Summary: A new character has arrived in Jump City. With his powers, will he be an ally or a dangerous enemy?
1. C 1: Things Unnoticed

_The storyline that I have created and the original character are my creations. The rest of the world is not mine and I do not take any credit for it._

_This story takes place in Jump City as well as (later) a place outside of the general area. There is also going to be some vulgar language. Later there will possibly be the slash of an OC and someone else, probably made into a chapter or story all on its own, it may be a while though. Language and adult situations will come in time and for these reasons, it is rated M. I also have not read any of the comics, but I have seen most of the television episodes, leaving off the last four or five. I'm basing the story roughly between seasons three and four. Also, I have upped the age of each of the characters. I have always seen the Teen Titans as being in their 20s than really being teenagers. I will also be changing a bit of the future of the animated series. All in all, I hope you enjoy!_

_I will be reworking chapter 1 and 2. I don't feel they're good, and the random switch from third to first person is a bit of a problem._

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><p>Things Unnoticed<p>

_I don't get it, where was I supposed to be?_ Was the only thought that ran through the wanderer's head. It was a long summer day in the land that surrounds Jump City. He was average height and build, but had a deep tan from being out in the sun too long. His short blonde hair was obscured by a wide-brimmed hat. He wore shorts and a white wife beater. With a backpack on, he was unfettered by the heat that was around him. Although it was deathly hot and his water supplies were running low, he wasn't sweating, thus managing it better than any others making the same trip. As he took a sip from his water bottle, something started to happen. It was just a small shift in the wind, but it was still noticeable. They came from the Northwest, and the East, and almost everywhere. He couldn't run, not even going up would save him. He fought for a bit, but the numbers soon were too overwhelming and he was captured and taken away. He blacked out soon after that, or maybe it was some sort of drugs, but his captors were sure he was out.

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><p><em>What's happened in my life?<em> A man of average height with shoulder length blonde hair ran through the streets of Jump City, knowing that the Teen Titans were coming soon, but he couldn't risk them getting there late. His "friends" were in trouble. He wore his sneakers, like always, but he soon had to ditch the ground for a more aerial approach. This man had a certain power over air, but it took him most of the few days he remembered to figure it out. It was worse than that though, he had to hide it from his friends. They were the power-bashing type, always making jokes that if Cyborg or Starfire were to get in a real fight without any of Cyborg's technology and Starfire's supernatural abilities, they would lose. He tried objecting to this once, early on, but he was soon ridiculed for being a complete dumbass and then threatened by the group to see if he really was a power-lover.

The sky was fresh this night, with just a small breeze blowing in, he continued following the criminals that he took them off guard easily. He didn't expect anyone to come from above yet, so he easily dropped down in front of the truck that they just tried to steal the hard drive from. It was easy, making a field of air that he would make to lift something, only vertical, against the speeding truck. It took a little bit for him to get it to stop going forward, but he was able to lift it just a bit off the ground while it was at a standstill. He quickly flew around back and broke the lock the other criminals put on with the crowbar he took from the scene. He took the handles and forced the doors open to reveal his friends. They were surprised to see him there instead of Raven. Since they felt the truck rise up they assumed it was her, but they just gave him a scowl and jumped off the truck and they walked away with their treasure securely in their hands.

It took a bit for the criminals that wanted the hard drive to get back to him. This time, they had weapons for the hero. It was almost a pathetic fight; one of them was able to get the jump on him, hitting him in the arm with a pipe. It wasn't bone-breaking, but it did hurt. The other two in their team finished the triangle around him and tried to hit him at the same time, they both missed and left and opening for one of them to get a swift kick in the side. _Where did I learn that?_ Was the only thought that went through the blonde man's head as he continued to beat up the other two. After the battle, he sat looking at the pile of men that he made. He was breathing heavy, but after a few moments he was sure to catch his breath. He let the truck down and looked around in the sky. He soon saw a green blast flying towards him and a pain in the back of his head. His body soon crumpled as he went into darkness the second time, the last thought he had was _This feels familiar.  
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><p>He woke up in a white room, lying down in a bed. There was a window and a couple of monitors; one of which was hooked up to him. He also noticed an intravenous that was in his arm. There was beeping from some machines and a strange feeling of comfort that happened over the man as he lied in bed. He took off the connectors to the machine, but left in the iv. He knew that it wouldn't be worth it to take out, since he didn't have a bandage. He walked over to the window with the hanging bag and stared out at the scenery. He found that he was not in the city. He was across the bay and in the tower that his friends constantly made fun of. He loved the scene though, the city against the blue and orange sky. He found it astounding how the blue sky changed colors so easily at sunset and sunrise. Since the sky was all air, he found it strange that a phenomenon of light took place in it. He always thought it was…<p>

"Disturbingly like a beautiful assassin." The man jumped as he noticed the words weren't just in his head. He looked around and saw that the green Titan was standing next to him, looking out at the same view he was. "I know it's weird, but I just think that eventually the sun will explode and whether or not we'll be on it, it'll kill everyone, thus making it an assassin." He looked back smiling at the other man. "Maybe that's just my imagination working up."

The man stayed silent, just shocked that he was like-minded to at least one of these "heroes." But he remembered the green thing that came at him before he went unconscious. It wasn't normal for green things to come from the sky, but he had known it was one of the two Titans that had come at him. He knew that he could've died, but the thing not making him angry was the fact that he was alive. If these people were to knock him out and then save him, there was no choice for him to assume that they would not hurt him.

"So, what's your name?" Beast Boy inquired. There was no response as the other man crossed his arms. "So, the silent treatment?" He continued when he noticed the other man wouldn't respond, "You know we didn't attack you or anything. Actually, that was the people that you saved. Starfire saw the fight that you put up to save your criminal friends. It's weird. You save them, they hit you, we save you. Now, you aren't going to turn on us are you?" He asked with some faked scorn in his voice. There wasn't much the other man did. He felt weak from the shock that his own friends probably would have killed him if it wasn't for the Titans.

After a few minutes he laid back down, ashamed of everything that had happened. He hung around that crowd for days just to have them hit him over the head. They knew he didn't remember anything and took advantage of that fact. Soon Beast Boy came over and took out the iv that was inside of him. "You realize that we brought you here and we know most heroes and villains. We've never seen you before this, but so far we've seen you help steal an important hard drive and save some people that you thought were friends. Now, which is it? Friend or foe?" He said looking at me expectantly. He put a Band-Aid over the needle site and went to go wash his hands.

"Well, I guess since it's the silent treatment with you, there's not much I can do. Just remember we'll be your friends, if you let us." He said as he walked out the room. The room was definitely quieter without Beast Boy in the room, but it didn't matter.

The man that lied in bed now knew nothing about his own life. He arrived at least three days ago from wandering in from the area around Jump City and walked into a couple stores asking for jobs. During those interviews he found out that he has no clue what he is able to do. No one hired him and he found some "friends" who seemed to comfort him. They knew how to make people feel better, at least for a while. He went to drugs, sure, but it was only for a small time. In fact, he had no knowledge that drugs would do anything.

Only when his friends tried to leave him for dead after an overdose, he got up and walked back to the apartments, or so he thought. He really levitated back to his temporary room, a fact which he found out when he hit the ground after falling the couple of feet that he was floating in. He lied there for a few more minutes, still hyped up on drugs; he figured he was just hallucinating. As he drifted off into a dreamless sleep. He woke up the next morning with a bruise on his chest. He did fall during the previous night and the only thing he could vaguely remember was the thought that he had been flying. He wanted to test out the ability of flight that he had, but he didn't know what to do so he waited for the night to come in order to try.

It had been a long day for the drifter. After saying no to the drugs that were offered to him, he had endured verbal abuse that few others have ever seen. He was surprisingly resilient to the meaningless words, but the threats did matter. He was afraid for his life not only because he possibly had some extra powers, but because the group had killed before. He went up to the roof and tried to remember how he was able to fly. The only problem was that the drugs from the night before were inhibiting his ability to remember. He couldn't remember exactly what happened, other than the want to go to a place that he knew.

He tried to create a similar feeling but was not able to. He wasn't sure exactly how to recreate any feeling that could remind him of his powers. He tried concentrating, moving his hands in different motions to see if anything would happen, and blowing in the wind to see if he could make a gust happen. No matter what he tried, there was no way to make him even rise up in the air. He got frustrated and he started to punch things in the general area. Nothing happened when he did this, but it did make him feel a lot better.

The man soon decided to turn in for the night, so he went back downstairs to where his bed was. While lying still, he thought about the layout of the building, where each person was. He knew exactly how each person was sleeping, but it was more than that, he felt it. He followed the air current as it went in and out of the ventilation system, the way his friends breathed in and out while asleep, even the movement of a cat in the alleyway. That's when he realized, he was actually in the air. He wasn't floating or anything, but he sensed everything that happened in the air. Eventually he drifted off to another dreamless sleep, happy that he found something that could possibly make him fly.

It would be the next night before he could practice again. During that day, his buddies let him in on some of their more lucrative ways of getting cash that did not revolve around the selling of drugs. It was simple, there were days when not all of those pussy Titans were around. Sometimes one of them would go to the east to check up on one of the Titan's other lame groups out there. The gang would simply hijack a truck that contained some sort of expensive item. The item for this week was an external hard drive with a terabyte of memory.

The man didn't know what was on the hard drive, but it didn't matter to him. It was a job for him and his friends to do and maybe, if he was lucky, he'd be able to get accepted into the group more, but that didn't matter at the moment. The job was for the next night, so he had to wait through another night and day before his change in status. However, this did mean that he had another night to try to do something with his powers.

He started off slowly, with just thinking about the air, feeling the currents that the air created. He sat there for an indescribable amount of time, thinking and being the air. After that period, he got up and tried to make himself float in the air. It took a bit of concentration and faith, but he eventually was able to rise up in the air. He took his time, slowly managing the way he moved in the air. Eventually he got around to flying around the City. He hit a couple billboards and buildings along the way, but nothing was bone breaking. He felt right flying around. He knew how to make every move of his while in the sky. It was really weird, almost as if he'd been doing it his entire life. He started to play around with lifting other objects as he had himself. First it was boxes, but he quickly moved on to lifting bigger and bigger things until he could lift cars a few inches off of the ground. By that time it was nearly morning, so he went to rest because he needed the sleep before the heist that was planned for that night.

Everything was planned out to the last detail. The heist was to take place in the warehouse district of Jump City. He was to be a lookout standing on one end of an alleyway while another man stood on the other entrance. The other two were to go in and pick the lock to the truck while the driver was sleeping away in a hotel. Everything went off without a hitch on his side, until he heard the engine rev and the truck started moving. He quickly turned and followed the truck as it sped off into the night. He knew by this time the Titans had been called, since the truck moved, and he had to make his move to save his friends now. He noticed the other sentry knocked out and took his crowbar as he ran past. He soon took off in the air, knowing he could get in front of the truck so much easier.

The blonde man remembered the days as he lied in bed. His days were terrible and the only refuge was the nights of practice he had. _I suppose the few hours here were decent_. He mused. He was about to get back out of the bed, when Beast Boy opened up the door. "We have a room ready if you'll stay. You're not trusted, to put it simply, but you may be trusted after a few mission. You talking yet?" He asked while giving the man a hand with getting up. The man didn't say a word, nor gave any indication that he heard the other. "Well, I guess you might as well follow me, I'll lead you to your room. Now, until you're trusted, you won't have full access to the tower, it's… policy." The man noticed that the green one was uneasy, something that probably happened in the past. He gave a slight nod to say that he's ready and they both walked through the tower.

They went down a hall, up two flights of stairs, and then passed three doors on their left, with the blonde's being the fourth. The door opened with a small whooshing noise, and a small view awaited him. There was an average twin sized bed, a dresser, a closet, a table and two chairs and a vanity. The room had a tall ceiling, and the best feature was clearly the window which barely caught the last light of the sun. The green man walked over to the window and looked for a bit before turning back to the blonde and saying, "We don't really have many spare clothes for you, but there are some in the dresser so that you can change." He motioned to the dresser as he spoke.

For some reason, the blonde felt weak and everything got a bit dark. He felt himself fall, but in the next moment he was on the bed. For all he knew, he could have died and this could be heaven. He was alone for the moment, so he got up to look at the night sky, catching a small green light flying around. _Starfire…_ he thought, remembering the green orb flying at his face. He had just started to wonder if there was something going on in the city, but then three of the Titans, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, came into the room.

"But still, you should have told us he was awake and moving around." Raven continued her conversation from out in the hall. "He just woke up from a couple days in an unconscious state, he needs food you oversized twat." She continued. "Look, he's still up and moving, here Mr. Speechless, lay back down, you need to get something to eat before you die from starvation, YOU," She continues with Beast Boy, "You shall cook him something, and make it variety since he won't talk. You'll have to cook some meat, DON'T ARGUE!" She cried out as Beast Boy opened his mouth, "You will cook him some variety and then bring it to him. Suck. It. Up." She spat the last words after which she quickly walked out of the room.

"Duuuuude, BB, you better get started, she has you on a leash." Cyborg said as he continued his check of the blonde man's charts. Soon Beast Boy left the room, grumbling about needing gloves and a mask. When Cyborg and the man were alone, Cyborg started to ask questions. "So, BB said that you haven't spoken a word, is this true?" He waited a couple seconds and then continued on, "I guess that will answer that question. You know, so far we only know you as someone who can fly, can somehow levitate objects, and can fight people. You also have helped some robbers get away with a terra byte of memory that was very important for the government. We're not sure exactly which side you're on, but we think that we may be able to trust you, seeing as you stopped the worse of the two robbers from getting that terabyte." He explained. "Here, you'll be able to access certain parts of the Tower with this," He states while holding out a card, "It's a simple swipe access card we installed after an incident we had. You'll be able to get to the common room, the hallway to your room, and the training facilities. We can't have you roaming around and learning all of our secrets yet, but maybe, eventually." He said.

Cyborg left the card on the nightstand and walked out. It was odd being in the hated tower, but he didn't mind the fact that he had a room to himself. He soon found that the being alone was just what he needed. He lied down on his bed and did the same trick as before, when he was at the apartment. He thought about the current of air, the flow of each molecule. He sensed Raven sitting in her room, a book open at her side and a mirror close at hand. Cyborg was in a garage-like setting, working on a car or other vehicle that he couldn't make out. Robin was in the training room, using his time to hone his skills. Beast Boy was in the kitchen, trying to figure out what to make. And Starfire was in there too, trying to give ideas to Beast Boy, who simply shook his head as if disgusted by previous memories. It seemed so average here, each of them breaking off when missions were done. It was quiet in his room, quiet enough where he slept and dreamt of the sky.

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><p><em>Don't be afraid to review please! If you notice some inconsistencies (more important for later) or other such things, please tell me.<em>


	2. C 2: A Life Changed

_The storyline that I have created and the original character are my creations. The rest of the world is not mine and I do not take any credit for it._

_I'll have made edits to the first chapter by the time this has gone off. If you're continuing from my previous chapter (unlikely, but I'm grateful!) I recommend a quick re-read if you haven't done so already._

_I started writing this chapter years and years ago and was keen on it being in the third person. However, I'm having trouble writing it that way now and will likely change it to a first-person style of writing with the blonde man being the person doing the telling._

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><p>There was an interesting swirl of colors. Hues of blues and reds swam together mixing and separating at their whim. There were sunsets and sunrises all happening one right after the other. It was surprising, however, to see a whirl of green.<p>

The blonde man suddenly jolted awake. He looked around frantically, not recognizing where he was. The room was only dimly lit, but it was still foreign to him. The sky blue walls and the view to the bay was surprisingly spectacular, but lacked in something in particular. It was then that he realized; he was in that tower.

His friends had abandoned him and there was nothing he could ever do about it. Actually, they didn't just abandon him; they fed him to the Titan Menaces. And now, there might be no way out. He quickly got up and headed to the window. A shiver ran down his spine as he realized that he wasn't as modest as he previously thought. He looked around until he found the dresser. There wasn't much in there, a few t-shirts, colored and non-colored, a few pairs of jeans, and some tattered beige shorts. For some reason there was no underwear for him, but that meant going commando for the time being. He took a purple shirt and a pair of jeans, carefully tucking himself safely away in the process. Things soon became dizzying, and the floor came to meet him.

"Jesus Christ Beast Boy!" The sound of the black haired girl had to fill the tower. The man woke to Raven as she leaned out the doorway of his room. "I leave him to watch you and he ends up leaving himself." She muttered to herself. "Useless. Oh, you fainted again, too much moving around without food or water. I'll bring you up some _**and**_ make sure you eat it."

Soon the green haired, green skinned man walked through the door. "What? I just left for a- OH. I guess he fell down."

"No, dumbass, he fainted and you weren't here to help, AGAIN. Luckily you missed him showing himself I guess." She said, leaving the room angrily.

"Ugh, I guess I'm the one that's going to have to take care of you for now, so where do you come from?" He inquired. Nothing came from the blond. "Are you too afraid to talk to us? Or can you even speak?" He questioned. No movement from the other man came. He was very still and kept his composure. He slowly moved his shoulders up and down, a shrug-like movement.

"Wow, a response. Finally, a response. I guess that we can deal with you now. So, what's your name?" No response came from the blond again, and Beast Boy decided to ignore it. "What brings you to the city? How about if you start talking, so we can start helping? Well, you know my name, who I am, and where we all live, but we know nothing about you. I'm surprised Robin let you actually stay in the tower with what happened last time. I guess I'll have to trust in our fearless leader, but what are you doing here, what is your purpose?" He asked nonchalantly.

Again there was no response and Beast Boy had to sit there in silence as he watched the taller man walk around and check out his room a bit more. The room was an average sized room and had a rather intricate paint job. The walls were all painted as scenery from a desert, but it still had an unnerving aura, or so the man could tell. Even Beast Boy seemed uneasy being in there. Everything had an earth-y feel to it, from the furniture, to the bedspread, to the paint upon the walls. Still, the other man paced for a while until Raven came back with some food.

"Alright, we don't know what you eat, so I brought an assortment of food. There are some eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, quiche, fruit, and some pancakes, along with various drinks." She explaining, pointing to the assorted food on the platters. They were, of course, floating around in the air with her powers. "Take what you like, but make sure you eat." She set them down on the bed And Beast Boy, make sure he eats. Robin has told me you can't go on any missions until you take care of him."

"Crap, why me?" He pleaded.

"Because you're the one that let him faint. Twice. Sit there and make sure he eats." She hissed before leaving. Her black-purple locks were the last thing out the door.

"So, what do you want? I personally recommend the fruit, toast, and fruit juices, didn't have to hurt any animals to get them." He said, grabbing some fruit and a piece of toast. "Yoh nehd tah eht. I ave tah mak shur." Was his sentence, barely understandable with the food being shoveled into his mouth. The blond soon started picking at food, just toast and fruit though.

"Oh, hey. Are yoh ah vegehtariun has whell?" He asked, still stuffing his face. There was little movement from the man as he stared down the green stranger and took a bite of bacon. After a small, but distinct swallow he responded with, "Guess that answers that." The silence that came after was clearly awkward, as neither were willing to speak. Eventually the man stopped eating food and stared at Beast Boy.

"Hey, uh…" The blonde started.

"Oh! He speaks! What a miracle!" He chided.

"Don't push it." The blond responded. "I just wanted to thank you. For, uh, for taking care of me." He blushed a bit.

"Hey now, no problem. It's just what us heroes do!" Beast Boy said cockily.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get up and stretch a bit."

"Oh, sorry bud, but I don't think that's the best idea." Beast Boy stated, but moved quickly to get everything onto a different place. "At least now you won't have plates and everything else cluttering your space."

"C'mon, I was moving fine before besides, you're watching over me now. If I faint, you can move me back to my bed and say that I never moved and got tired. Besides, I dressed myself, which- hey, where's the shirt I was wearing?" He asked, finally noticing his upper torso was exposed.

"It's been two days since you fainted last. We decided it was best to get you out of dirty clothes, though we left your pants on since you were wearing only them." This time Beast Boy was blushing, possibly remembering something that he had to experience first-hand.

"Well," He said, swinging his legs around the side of the bed, "I plan on getting up."

"Alright, I'll catch you if you fall."

He promised, lifting the last plate from the edge of the bed. "Just, you know, don't."

Then the blonde stood, there were no issues, no problems, but he seemed to know what he needed to do. He stumbled around a bit, grabbing onto the edge of the bed, the dresser, anything he could.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Beast Boy exclaimed, trying to catch him each time. The blonde avoided him with ease, taking erratic patterns to get where he was going on next. It wasn't long before the green enveloped the white though, he did have shape shifting and years of running on him. As he was holding the naked chest to his weird, suit-covered chest Beast Boy was rambling on and on about how the other shouldn't have gotten up and how he wasn't ready, but the blonde quickly stiffened his body and started to make them float in the room.

"You're totally fine, aren't you?" He stammered out after being surprised by the lift.

The blonde simply smirked and returned us to the floor. "Yeah, just thought I'd make you fret."

Beast Boy broke the hold and continued to watch him walk around. He took the time to do some stretches, as he was sore from being so bedridden. The blonde was antsy, surprisingly full of energy. He looked at Beast Boy a few times who continued to watch me him move around the room.

"Hey, I know you're-" The sound of the door opening cut the blonde off.

"Beast Boy!" It was the orange-haired, green-lighted wonder. "And our new friend! I hope you are feeling well as you are now mobile!" She immediately came upon the blonde and nearly crushed him with a gigantic hug. "I am glad your body has refreshed itself!" He was still in the hug, continuing to get squeezed.

"Uhhh, Starfire? I think he needs to breathe." His rescue came just in time. She gasped as she let him go, who then gasped and collapsed out of necessity for air. "Nice one, he just came to and you're going to put him back down."

"Oh no! New friend, please be okay!" She lifted the man onto his feet and made sure he was steady.

"I'm al-" He was able to respond before getting cut off by a harsh alarm.

"Titans, emergency in the city. Move out!" Came Robin's voice from their communicators.

"I shall see you down there." Starfire smiled before flying off.

"Are you fine? You look fine." Beast Boy hesitated before leaving. "Look, just don't go too crazy before we come back. We don't want to find you collapsed again."

"Alright, alright." He chuckled, "One question, where's the gym in here?"

"Oh, go down the hallway, take two lefts, elevator down to the 1st floor, and then it's a left, right, straight past two turns, and then you'll see it on your right." The blonde's face looked very confused, but Beast Boy didn't notice. "Also, you might want to put a shirt on." The green one turned and then left, speeding towards the elevators he just mentioned.

"But, oh whatever." He muttered, being left alone in the room. He moved towards the dresser, rummaging through the contents. He pulled out a pair of white athletic shorts and a tank top. In the moment it took him to pull his pants down, the door opened up again. The blonde turned to see Beast Boy, who was looking much more of a red than green at that moment.

"Jesus! No shame either!" He said, getting quite the eyeful. "Well, here's a new card. The old one didn't have the gym on it." He then left, running down the hallway again.

"Uh, thanks." The blonde replied, taking note of where his intruder's eyes were lingering. He dressed himself soon after and stepped into the hallway. It was a metal hallway, grey and lifeless, but he remembered where to go. He started to go down the hallway, the same way Beast Boy had gone just a few seconds earlier. He took two lefts and the elevator, but then couldn't exactly remember where to go. He tried taking a few turns, but nothing seemed to come of it. Finally he came upon a door. He swiped the key, and sure enough it opened. Walking in, he looked around to find that he was in some sort of recreational room. He turned, aggravated that this place could be so infuriating. In a moment he was turning down halls, not really sure where he was going.

The blonde stopped for a few minutes, took the time to try to figure out where he was. All the running around had made him quite confused. Sitting down, he took the time to think about what he could do to get out of his situation, and then it hit him. He sat up, breathing slowly. He saw the air currents and the shapes they moved around. When most of the tower was mapped within his head, he looked for the gym specifically. He couldn't stifle his laughter. His own laughter could be heard through most of the tower, if only someone was there to hear it.

He stood up, turned the corner and walked in the door. And there, before him, was the gym. He continued the stretches from above and started off slow. A few crunches, a few barbell lifts, even a few pull-ups. Soon, however, his body tired from the lack of exercise he's had recently. So, instead, he decided to work on his powers. Since he mapped the tower out already, he figured he'd have a bet more fun. He sat, floating in the middle of the room. Then he lifted weights, equipment, anything that wasn't bolted down. Everything eventually became airborne, though slowly. In just a moment everything was circling the room.

He stayed like that for a while, using practicing his powers. It was only when Cyborg entered the room did his concentration break. "Yo, what are you doing?" He demanded, unhappy and perplexed as machinery crashed to the ground. "What the hell?"

"Sorry, you startled me, broke my train of thought. Where does all of this stuff go again?" he asked, floating himself down.

"I might as well help with that, this goes here and that goes there…" They worked for a few minutes, getting everything back in order. "Man, I didn't know half this stuff moved. What were you doing anyway?"

"Just getting in some practice, it was a chore finding this place."

"So Beast Boy was telling the truth, you've decided to speak." He was smirking, "Didn't he explain how to get here?"

"Yeah…" He ran a hand through his hair. "But it was so fast and so not helpful that I simply forgot the last part." The blonde clutched his side and sat down on one of the benches.

"You alright? Should you be moving?" Cyborg was concerned.

"I'm fine, I won't faint. Just a little exhausted is all." His breathing was heavy and his muscles ached. "Need only a minute."

"Well, I can't leave you on your own. Just tell me when you're done resting."

"Just another second." His gasps were subsiding. "Alright, I think I'm ready to leave." His movements were slow, edging on snail-like. "I guess exerting myself had some repercussions after being out for so long."

"That's what happens, a good blow to the head, or two like you've suffered, a few days of rest, and then your muscles atrophy just enough to make you weaker." Cyborg chuckled to himself. "You know, I haven't had that problem in a long while."

"Yeah? How did you get rid of it?" He asked, massaging his arms.

"Well, I thought that a bit obvious." He clenched his fist, making his metallic arm make its own noises.

"Right, sorry. I guess that was rude."

"It's alright, worse has been said." He explained. "But let's get you back upstairs." He came over and grabbed the blonde's arm to help him up. Soon he was nearly carrying the other man as they took a single turn and found elevators waiting.

"Beast Boy isn't very good at mapping things out in his head, is he?" The blonde asked.

"Nope, knows one elevator up and down."

"Not the brightest, is he?" At that Cyborg just chuckled, helping him to the lift. It was a much shorter trip than the one Beast Boy advised. They reached the room that the blonde was staying in and the door opened to reveal Beast Boy inside fixing up the bed.

"Oh, hey guys. Just making sure things are clean." He said, straightening the bed.

"Oh, thanks. I'll just grab some clothes and go shower…" The blonde briskly walked over to the dresser, grabbing a pair of black pants and a simple red t-shirt.

"Hey, don't forget some underwear! I put some on the vanity." Beast Boy said, motioning to the furniture.

"Not my fault you guys didn't supply me with any." The blonde smiled, moving towards the bathroom. "So far, it's only really been a problem for you, Beast Boy." He winked to Cyborg as he moved into the bathroom.

"And what was that all about?" Cyborg asked, sounding muffled through the door. The blonde disrobed and stepped into the shower. It was an odd looking shower, mostly stone and marble, but it also had enough metal to make it clearly a shower. With one turn of the knob, warm water cascaded from the main showerhead and four others that were unknown to the blonde. He stood there, water flowing over his body.

There was a knock at the door. "Hello? I'm going to give you a towel and some stuff for the shower." It was Beast Boy, sent by Cyborg to give the man what he needed. "It's been a while since I've been in here. But I'm leaving towels near the sink and… here." He said, opening the door to the shower. His thrust his hand into it without him looking.

"Hey!" The blonde exclaimed, feeling a cool hand brush up against his genitals. "Trying to get a handful instead of an eyeful?"

The green hand dropped the small basket containing soap and shampoo. "Oh god! If you faint, or anything, just yell! I'll be in the bedroom trying not to die!" And with that the green man exited the bathroom with haste. The blonde chuckled and soon continued to wash himself. The Titans had good stuff, probably given to them for free in thanks of saving people. But at this time he wasn't complaining. He made sure his shower was long and relaxing, massaging his muscles every chance he had.

A knocking came on the door to the bathroom, "Hey, man, it's been a half hour." He soon snapped out of the trance he was in, the warmth of the shower and the massaging lulled him into a near sleep. He rinsed his hair one more time before exiting the shower. He grabbed the towels off of the sink and dried himself. He made sure to keep one around his waist and the other around his neck to stop his hair dripping too much.

"Do you have a comb?" He sauntered out, staring the green man in the face.

"Uh, I can see if Starfire or Raven have an extra." He was averting his eyes from the blonde.

"Oh wait, there's one of the vanity here." The man walked over to the vanity and sat down, grabbing the comb from the vanity. And there he sat; combing his hair while making sure it was not going to drip with the towel. "So, are you just going to sit there and ogle me?"

"What?! I wasn't!" Beast Boy was quick to defend.

"This chair has no back and I can see you in the mirror staring at my ass." The blonde was smirking, staring right back at the green one who quickly turned his gaze towards the window and the soon-to-be-setting sun. "It's alright, really. You've been staring all day. You even touched my dick."

"I won't even live that down, will I?" He pleaded.

"No, probably not. But, you know, at least thanks for noticing." The blonde had just finished with his hair, somewhat dry, yet still wet. He stood from his chair, the towel from his waist drifting to the floor. He simply shrugged as he made his way back to the bathroom to get dressed. He was sure Beast Boy would notice and look, but he's seen everything already, so it didn't really bother the blonde. He got dressed in a timely fashion; he already wasted a lot of time.

"I have a question," Beast Boy's words came through the door as the shirt was pulled over his head. "What's your name? I mean, you know mine and everyone else's in the Tower." The man came out of the bathroom staring down at him. "If you don't want to, can I at least ask you to accompany me to the roof?" He asked, opening the door to the hallway.

"Sure, I guess, but I'll lead us there and you don't ogle." The man had already mapped the building and the route to the roof. "Judging by the way you sent me downstairs, it would take a few minutes to get to the roof." He said, turning left into the hallway and then another left around a corner.

"Oh yeah, heh, I always forget about this elevator." Beast Boy murmured.

"No worries, I know about it."

"How?"

"I mapped the building after I got lost looking for the gym." He explained, chuckling at remembering what happened.

"Really? I've lived here for years and you've accomplished what I couldn't." His mood dampened a bit.

"Yeah, but you've got all those animals jammed in there. That probably takes up a good amount of space." He was tapping his temple, trying to lift his spirits a bit. It seemed to work, as the lift reached the rooftop, he stepped out and stretched.

"Well, I guess you're right. Nothing like fresh air after a mission."

"Oh yeah, what was the mission?"

"Nothing big, just Control Freak going on about something. Absolutely not serious at all." He moved to the edge and sat down, staring towards the bay and the sunset. "C'mon."

The blonde obliged, sitting next to the green man. "You know, I hated you guys when I first woke up."

"Really?" He said, shifting a little bit away from the other.

"Well, I woke up a few weeks ago and those guys, those people with the truck? I thought they were my friends." He sighed, wanting to rewrite the experiences he had.

"Oh yeah. Those guys really didn't like you too much in the end though. Oh well, trial and error. Hopefully you'll see that we're trying to help you."

"I do, don't worry." He patted the green one's knee. "I mean, I finally have someone to ogle me."

"C'mon man, you don't have to bring that up all the time." He groaned.

"No, not all the time, just when I find it amusing." The blonde smiled, looking at Beast Boy. "Hey." He got him to look him in the eye. "My name is Gem."

* * *

><p><em>So there it is. The eventual chapter 2. I hope to continue updating, but I think I'll start alternating updates between this and the Rise of the Guardians story I'm working on as well.<em>

_If you think a shift to 1__st__ person would change too much, please inform me. Otherwise I'm going to try it in the next chapter._


	3. C 3: Blue and Black

_Gem and story are mine; other characters and setting are not._

_I'm going to do this in 1__st__ person, as previously stated. If you like it more or less, please inform me!_

* * *

><p>"Gem. Interesting name." Beast Boy seemed surprised by it. "Sure it's not Cloud or Vapor or Sphere or Gassy?"<p>

"I have a best friend named Gassy!" I smiled at him.

"No way!"

"Yeah, you're right. Thought I got you for a second." He gave me a light punch on my arm.

"Ah, but at least it's a name. More than 'Our guest upstairs.'" He sighed.

"'Our guest upstairs?' Really? That's the best you guys came up with?" I laughed.

"Well, it was that or 'Guy with powers that got hit.' It's shorter and nicer, as Starfire pointed out." Soon he was laughing as well. I was amazed at how inviting he and his teammates were. One moment I'm helping steal a hard drive with the others and now I'm sitting here, having a nice and casual conversation with one of the Teen Titans.

"You know, I'll be right back." I said. And with that, I leaned forward. Soon I was falling, plummeting towards the base of the tower. In a moment I'd fall and be a mere splatter, but before that moment I'd pull myself up. After a little exertion and sure enough, I was flying. Soaring above the bay, I could feel the wind in my hair and the fading sun upon my face. It felt like it had been ages since I've felt the wind.

"That was pretty sick dude." A voice came from my right. I was pretty scared you were going to bite the big one." It was a green eagle flying next to me.

"Ah, the Golden Eagle. Trying to catch up with me?" I chided.

"You know your birds? A telekinetic that knows their birds." He was surprised.

"Telekinetic? Where did you get that from?" I chuckled. "I'm far from it."

"But you can lift things and you're actually pretty smart." If I was closer, I would swear his green composure would be a muddy brown... for an eagle.

"Smart. Right, well, first time for anything. Oh, I know what I can show you, look." I motioned toward the clear bay sky. Soon I had clouds rolling in from the east and the west, meeting and then dispersing the same way as they came.

"Ah, you can lift stuff and control the weather. What else can you do?"

"Not too sure, let's see…" I clapped my hands together and slowly pulled them apart, concentrating on expanding the barrier I was thinking of. Air started swirling and it wasn't long before I made it expand ten feet around the two of us.

"What? What is this?" He asked, flying closer to my side.

"A barrier, I think. I'd say try to go through, but it might hurt."

"Ah, no problem. Wait." He said, getting close to the barrier, "You hear that?"

"No, I can't. What are you talking about?" I said, getting close to the other side of the barrier.

"I can't hear the ocean." Beast Boy explained, putting his wing through the barrier. As he touched it, the barrier showed the air that it was compromised of. "Ah, air manipulation." His somber tone was obvious.

"Yeah, I found out after an overdose." My mood dampened as well. There was odd silence for the both of use over the bay, no sound from outside the barrier was coming in, but even I didn't know that that would happen.

"Well, let's go back to the tower, it's getting dark." I said to break the silence.

"You remember me a lot of a girlfriend I once had."

"Oh? The way you stare I figured you fancied something else." I remarked, touching down on the tower.

"I don't know. It's been a bit since I've really noticed anyone. She… died a while back." He transformed and landed on his feet during the last statement.

"Oh," I said, walking towards the smaller green man, "I, I can't imagine." I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"How are you so easy to talk to?" He turned to meet my gaze.

"I suppose everything's easy after you touch someone else's penis."

"Heh, ass." He smiled.

"Apparently. I think this is the longest interaction I've had." The second sentence came out as a whisper.

"No way, you've had to have had discussions with those jerks you were with."

"Nope, just a lot of yelling, drugs, and hate." I moved to the other side of tower's roof, sitting and watching the night rise over the city. "They got me addicted to cocaine; I didn't know it would do anything. 'It will help you remember. It will make your cares go away. Don't be a Titan.'"

"What?" He remarked.

"They hated you, 'Titan' akin to a pussy. But I overdosed at a… party, I guess, and they left me to die."

"Lucky you." He sat down behind me.

"I know, but they were all I had, or thought I had. The lucky part is that I didn't die, though I thought it unlucky at the time." I sighed; I did think that death would have saved me. "Then I guess my subconscious tapped into my powers and flew me back to where we stayed, or something." He shifted behind me. "And what makes me so easily able to talk to you?"

"Probably because I touched your penis." We both started laughing, my own line used against me.

"Maybe, maybe." Was all I could get out between laughing that continued for a few minutes. At the end, we both sighed.

"This was nice, thanks for taking me up here." I turned to see him lying down on the top of the tower. The top half of his purple and black uniform bunched underneath his head.

"Nights not over." He mused, patting the space beside him.

"Oh really? And what do you suppose we do?" I smiled, thoughts not so completely clean while taking of my own shirt to do the same beside him.

"Well, I was wondering if you know about stars." He said.

"Astronomy? No… I just know meteorology, ornithology, and a bit of aerodynamics and ecology." After a moment I looked over to Beast Boy. "Or, I guess I do."

"Yeah," He sniggered, "Well all I got is zoology, paleontology, and, my personal favorite, cryptozoology. And some light astronomy."

"Cryptozoology? _That's_ fun, guess it makes sense too. Why astronomy?"

"I used to think chicks dug the astronomy thing, but I mixed it up with astrology." He laughed at himself.

"Alright, so astronomy, what's up there?"

"Alright, see the big dipper?"

"Yeah, of course."

"And follow the lines of the scoop and you get-"

"The North Star." I interrupted. I've got basic information at least.

"Ah, well, look around the scoop of ursa minor… riiiiiight, there." He said, motioning his hand in a snake like motion in the air. "It looks like a snake, it's Draco."

"No, I don't see it." I said, staring hard into the sky.

"Here." He moved closer, making our arms touch. "Now do you see it?" He was making the same motions as before.

"Nope, just looks like stars." I shrugged.

"Let's try this." He stood up, moved the top of his uniform right next to my head. Then he sat down behind my head and laid his head next to mine. He was so close, I could hear his breathing. It was new, being this close to someone. "Now do you see it?"

"That is a constellation? You have to be kidding!" I laughed.

"Really, it is!" He chuckled along, "Go from the belly of that straight across, and you find Cepheus."

"Where?"

"There." He pointed, making out a small house with the stars. "I'm going to have to point all of these out aren't I?"

"Probably. But that's some crappy constellation." I chided.

"Hey, I didn't knock what you studied."

"True, but mine are fairly useful." I nudged his head with mine.

"Ecology?"

"Save the world and all that."

"Ah, a hippie, I should've guessed with how much you like gallivanting around naked."

"You're one too then, Mr. Veggies."

"Alright, alright. I concede. But if you want to see rubbish constellations, I've got three for you." He redirected my attention back above. "There, see that 'W'? Cassiopeia. And over here, many stars over, that zigzag line? Lynx." He made the motions for each as he described them. My mouth was open in disbelief. "And if you follow Lynx down and down and down, there's a small sequence that looks like a face, here. Happernicus."

"You _have _to be shitting me." I couldn't believe people actually thought of those constellations.

"Well, the last one was crap, but the other two are as real as you and I."

"You got me, but maybe Happernicus will be the next one named." We laughed again, I enjoyed it, his company. "Look! Look!"

"A shooting star!"

"C'mon, it's a meteorite."

"Still, don't be boring. Make a wish!" He nudged my head again.

"Alright, alright. I wish-"

"Not out loud! It's like you don't know the Universal Wishing Rules, or UWR."

"UWR, you are a nut." But I fell silent and wished. I wished very hard. _I wish for one thing only. I wish to remember. _A few more seconds of silence passed. "So, what did you wish for?"

"UWR number 3, don't tell anyone a wish you have made."

"You have a list!" I broke down. "A list of wishing rules! You can't! You just can't!" The laughter was filling the roof but it was only mine.

"Well, fine. If that's how you want to be." Beast Boy started to get up, and I sat up with him.

"Wait, wait. I'm sorry. Please, tell me the rules." There was a pause as he thought whether or not to.

"Fine," he sighed, "Rule One: Don't talk about UWR. Rule Two:"

"Don't talk about UWR." I interrupted. "Fight Club, the guys loved that movie."

"Oh damn, and here I thought I was being witty."

"I wouldn't go that far." I grinned. "But do tell me."

"Alright, really this time." He took a breath in to prepare himself. "Rule One: Don't speak your wish allow when you make it. Rule Two: Only make wishes when seeing shooting stars, breaking wishbones, blowing out candles on a birthday cake, or tossing a coin into a wishing well or fountain. Rule Three: Don't speak of your wish after you have made it. Rule Four: Don't wish for death." He paused a moment. "That's really all the ones that are need-to-know."

"The four main UWR." I sniggered, "I'm sorry, I can't hold it back anymore." The damn burst and I was left cackling in its wake. The Universal Wishing Rules, I loved it. "How did you come up with these?"

"I've had them for a while, actually." I was still giggling, and I didn't want to press too far into his past without stopping the laughter first. I lay back down, hoping he'd do the same. "Well Gem, I've told you something embarrassing about myself, do the same." The green man slowly lowered himself back down, head next to mine.

"Alright, if I'm being honest, I'm really glad I stayed up here tonight."

"Me too." And then we lay there, just breathing and staring up at the stars. It was slightly tense, neither of us wanting to make the first move. I don't think I would this early. I really just met the guy a few days ago. Beast Boy may have seen and felt more of me, but he probably felt the same way too.

"I don't…" I started.

"Yeah." He finished, his soft tone comforting.

"Alright. Want to sleep up here, watching the stars?"

"Yeah." He yawned, adjusting his uniform a little bit under his head.

It was a warm night, one that would be full of life and vibrancy for those that lived in the city. But they wouldn't be able to see the stars, the lights would outshine everything above. They always miss this sort of experience, the bright lights from afar, spending it with someone you-

"What was she like?"

"She was awesome." He said, emphasizing each word. "She was confident and passionate. She really wanted to help people. But she got led astray and started working for a terrible person." Though his voice didn't change, I could feel him shaking. He was probably crying while trying to keep it together.

"Sounds like you really loved her."

"Yeah, we had a lot of great times together."

"If I may ask, how did she die?" There was a sharp intake of breath. "I'm sorry, I take back the question."

"No, don't do that. I haven't talked about it with anyone, none of us really want to remember." He got up soon after and moved back to the bay side of the roof.

"Alright," I got up sat down next to him, "tell me about it."

"It was in a fight against Slade, an evil asshole that tormented us for a while. She had this dream and he used it against her to turn her against us. Eventually we got her to trust us again, though, but she felt so terrible, so much guilt..." I put my arm around the crying green man, he lost this one person he cares so much about. "She sacrificed herself, stopping Slade and allowing us to live."

"So live for her." I whispered, rubbing his arm. "Live for her." I used my powers to bring over the shirts, "Here, let's head inside."

"Wait." I looked at him, "You've been awake less than a day and I've shared more than with Raven, Starfire, or Robin."

"If it makes you feel better, I've told you just about everything that I can remember… though I guess that includes various sciences that deal with the air." I took a moment to take my own breath. "My first memories were wandering Jump City. I remember the hunger gnawing at stomach and the issue of not having any identity. Soon I was in a mall hoping to get food from the trash of what others threw out when I met those guys and they took me to wharf district." Now I've started crying, "I don't even know who I am."

His head touched my shoulder, and we sat in silence. Occasionally I'd rub his arm and he'd sigh. Sometimes I'd even feel a small drop of liquid hit my shoulder, a tear he couldn't contain. We listened to the bay, watched the stars, and felt our heartbeats until the sun peaked over the city behind us.

"We should get going, we've stayed up all night." I motioned behind us. Getting up, I put on my shirt and gave him his to wear. "I'll see you at breakfast." And I walked to the lift.

"Breakfast? What time are you thinking?" He asked, shoving his head through the hole in his uniform.

"Nine o'clock. Try to get a little rest first." Then the lift descended. I wasn't planning to rest though, I just had the best night of the life that I could remember. I returned to the room they gave me, grabbing a new shirt and brushing my hair. It was a quaint room, not to my liking, but they wouldn't have prepared a room like this for me. It must have been the room for the woman Beast Boy was talking about. Lying on the mattress, I looked at the clock that was placed near the bed. "6:03. Maybe I can get two hours in." I reached over to grab the clock. Fiddling with it, I finally managed to set the alarm to seven fifty-five. And soon I was asleep.

There was this blaring noise coming from my left. It was annoying and loud. When I looked, it was just the alarm clock I set a few hours earlier. I begrudgingly got up and got ready to head downstairs.

After a short walk to the kitchen and dining area, I walked in to be appalled at the sight. It looked like a disaster had gone off. They had a well-equipped kitchen, but it was dirtier than the place I stayed before the tower, everything was dirty. They must not have done the dishes for months. _What did I get myself into?_

The first thing I did was rummage to see what food they had. They had a good stockpile of food, but it was mostly nonperishables. The one thing I did find in the refrigerator was some fresh strawberries, butter, and soy milk. I checked the nonperishables again, and sure enough I found what I wanted. First, though, I had to clean some stuff. I tried to contain the mess in the counter space next to the sink, the table, and half of the island. I grabbed the least dirty bowl, cutting board, and frying pan I could find and started to get some wash water going. I was pleased to find utensils and a flipper that was clean. First I had to wash where I was cleaning, and experience I didn't think I would have to do. Cleaning the stovetop and the counter immediately to its left was all I could get in before having to start cooking. I almost looked in the oven, but decided it was best that I didn't. I thoroughly washed the bowl and frying pan and gave the utensils a quick rinse. Grabbing paper towels to dry them off, I soon got to work preparing the meal.

It was really simple, just some strawberry pancakes. There wasn't much else he could do given the horrific state of the kitchen. He was about to put the batter on the pan when Beast Boy walked in the kitchen, yawning with his large mouth.

"Morning." I said, letting the batter drop into circles on the pan.

"Morning. What are you making there?" He scratched his belly.

"Just some pancakes with strawberries. How do you guys survive this kitchen?"

"Well, we usually don't cook. And when we do, it's for ourselves or we have to leave really quickly. Issues of being a superhero."

"I bet, ever hire a maid or some other cleaning service?"

"Mhm," He paused to yawn again. Morning was clearly not his best time. "But most of them left after a few days, we get can get pretty messy."

"No doubt. Shit! I forget to wash some plates, could you do so?" I asked, motioning towards the sink.

"Sure, no problem. Let's see… these plates." He grabbed some plates from close to the top of the pile, but it shifted a bit and we both glanced at each other. "Close, but wash time."

I was standing there with three pancakes on a flipper and the pan off the heat. Then I thought about my powers and my ability to use them without being judged. I placed the pancakes onto solid air, and had them float there until Beast Boy was done. I started the next few right away.

Raven walked in, reading a book as she went towards the refrigerator. "Beast Boy, you're awake before 10?" I think she was surprised, but her inflection and facial expression stayed pretty stagnant. "And you're cleaning? Who are you?" He chuckled a bit, continuing his duty to cleaning. "And you're awake and not fainting, that's good. What are you making for breakfast? Floating pancakes?"

"They're only floating because it's so dirty in here. Once Beast Boy is done with those plates, they'll not be floating anymore." I said, continuing with cooking.

"Probably a bad idea, Beast Boy is pretty useless in a kitchen."

"I'm right here you know." He said, turning to give the plates to me.

"Put them there, I motioned with the flipper, and catch the pancakes." He did just that, but caught the pancakes with his hands.

"Well, those are yours. I meant with the plate."

"See, told you!" She smirked, opening the refrigerator. "Where are my strawberries?" She asked, staring directly at me.

"I may have used them… Sorry, I should've waited for him but I wanted to make breakfast for the food he made yesterday." Her glare was like cold and darkness shooting from her eyes.

"I'm claiming some pancakes in recompense." She was all matter-of-fact and neither of us wanted to get in her way. Soon a plate took to cleaning itself and a bottle came from a cupboard. "Pancakes without syrup, who does that?" She chided. "Do you have a name yet?" She asked, standing next to Beast Boy.

"Gem." I replied, flipping some pancakes.

"You took her strawberries and lived. That's the stuff of legends right there." Beast Boy remarked, shoveling food into his mouth.

"You know pancakes are made with eggs, right?" She scowled at him. He stopped right away.

"Wait, wait," I waved the flipper, "I found this vegan batter mix in there and used the soy milk."

"Thanks!" He beamed, finishing off the pancakes he had. Giving the next batch to Raven, I gave her a smile and mouthed 'Thank you' to her. There was plenty for the three of us, but if the other three Titans wanted in, it would get a little sparse.

"I would've made something else as well, but I had to do some cleaning and I'm not exactly sure how to do tofu. Looks pretty gross to me."

"Good idea." Raven chimed in. "These vegan pancakes aren't half bad." I did a small bow and faked tipping my hat to her. "And we have a gentleman! It's nice to finally have one around here!"

"Hey, what am I?" Beast Boy spoke up between mouthfuls.

"Definitely not a man." She laid the bait and he took it. I chuckled as well.

"Hook, line, and sinker." I smiled, finishing up the next pancakes.

"You know," he started, grabbing more pancakes, "I think this is the first time anyone's cooked for more than themselves in a few weeks."

"You may be right." Raven agreed. "Hands off that last one, I'm taking it upstairs." Beast Boy backed off and let her have it as she left. "Glad to see you two are getting along." She said, reopening her book and continuing on her way.

"But seriously, you touch any fruit if we're not stocked up, you die. You just got a freebie on life, Gem. Take advantage of it." He smiled, pancake still in his mouth.

"C'mon, don't talk with your mouth full."

"Rae's right, you are a gentleman."

"Maybe. I wouldn't know." I finished another batch, and started on the last. "Alright, these last ones in the pan are mine, you can have those other ones if you want."

But it then the communicator went off, calling the Titan to battle.

"I guess I'll be seeing you." Grabbing some more pancakes on the way out.

"Alright, don't die!" I waved as he ran off. The life of a superhero, being on call at all times, sounds as painful as it must be rewarding. I returned my attention to the pan and the food I was cooking. It was done in a few moments and I turned off the burner. _This is pretty damn good for vegan stuff. _I thought, eating what tasted to be a normal, strawberry pancake. But soon the food was gone and I was left alone in a very dirty kitchen.

"Might as well do the work no one else will." I started working on cleaning the pots and pans. The dish water wasn't very hot, so I only got through a few before having to refill it. I quickly air-dried the clean dishes and tried to put them away only to find that the cupboards had a layer of dust in them. I quickly blew the dust away, making sure that the dust went exactly into the trash and not onto anything else. Then the pots and pans were stacked nice and neat. That's how most of my day was spent, scrubbing, brushing, and cleaning the dismal thing called a kitchen.

It was seven p.m. by the time I had finished. Tables, counters, dishes, drawers, floor, chairs, everything was spotless. And, of course, I felt my stomach rumble. I groaned in my reluctance to dirty anything. I flopped into one of the chairs, hating the fact that I was hungry. The door opened, bringing in the Titan crew minus one green fellow. They were carrying plastic bags with brown bags inside, it was very odd.

"Yeah, and then he just thought that he'd fight without any of his technology. Sometimes geniuses aren't very smart." Cyborg seemed to be finishing up a story.

"Long fight?" I inquired, sitting up in my chair.

"He's here." Robin spoke into his communicator, probably to Beast Boy.

"Long, but not difficult. Looks like you had a long, dangerous battle with the kitchen." Raven responded.

"But why would our new friend go to battle against the kitchen? He has made it so wonderful!" Starfire's cheery disposition was much more in person than in stories.

"Star, it's a figure of speech." Cyborg retorted.

"Oh, like 'shake a tail feather' or 'put a lid on it.' Then the battle must have been…" I tuned her out, I'm sure she'd get it eventually but it seemed like a train wreck to get there.

"Thanks for cleaning the kitchen Gem." Robin spoke over Starfire's rambling.

"No problem, it's not like I had anything planned anyway." I shrugged, "But at least you guys went shopping."

"Actually, Raven was the only one who went shopping. I also heard you survived her fruitless rampage this morning." Robin smiled at Raven, well aware of the fire he played with.

"Yeah, we decided to get Chinese!" Cyborg spoke up, holding what must have been four bags of food.

"… and so, our new friend was cleaning the kitchen and the battle was the cleaning!" Starfire burst out louder than before. "Oh, thank you friend!" She moved over very quickly, picking me up and entombing me within her arms. Breath left my body very quickly and I was left gasping. Everyone laughed, clearly this must have been a common thing with her.

The door opened and in came Beast Boy with several bags of his own. "Starfire, you should probably let him down." He mused, seeing me being crushed.

"Alright, we can sit down now. I'm dying for some lo mein." Cyborg interrupted. Plates and forks were grabbed and everyone was sitting, food being distributed. There was a lot more food than there would be for a normal group of six people. Cyborg and Beast Boy were next to each other, each seeming to take close to the same amount of food while shoveling food into their gaping mouths. Robin was at the opposite head of the table, eating what must have been some beef dish with white rice while using chopsticks with precision. Raven and Starfire were in the seats opposite Cyborg and Beast boy. Raven having her own dish and Starfire eating like the two men across from her.

"Quite a lot of food." I remarked, trying to prompt a discussion at an otherwise silent dinner. I grabbed for some fried rice, always a safe choice.

"Well we need it for these three." Raven pointed at those stuffing their mouths. "They use up a lot of energy, so we tend to get a lot."

"Plus we have you." Robin joined in. "After Beast Boy told us about what you can do, we got enough for two more normal eaters."

"Hey, I'm not that fat." I said, looking at my own figure.

"Naht sahyin' we thoagh thah." Beast Boy chimed in quickly, spewing food everywhere. Cyborg gave him a quick slap on the back of the head.

"Thank you." Raven said, wiping food off of her cheek.

"But you weren't sure just how much energy I'd use in a normal day." Robin continued.

"Thanks, for remembering about me." The last part was much more of a whisper in hopes none of them would hear it. Raven and Robin gave a short glance, but ignored it as I took a bite of food.

"Rae said you'd probably give us our kitchen back. And since we haven't gotten groceries in a long time, we figured we wouldn't go out so late at night." He shrugged, eating more.

"Well, I don't plan on cleaning this all the time. I'll just have to get you guys to clean up your own dishes." At that everyone stopped eating for just a moment and stared. I started laughing and everyone joined in. It was pleasant, everyone was eating and happy. "Seriously though," I smiled, "I'm not doing anymore dishes today."

"I'll do it." Beast Boy chimed in, mouth clear of food this time. The others seemed shocked by this, he really must not clean very often.

"Just like this morning? Doing dishes?" Raven asked.

"Whoa, BB, you'll do dishes twice in one day?" Cyborg was even more surprised.

"First time for everything." Beast Boy retorted, fist on his chest in a pose of faked nobility.

"I'm sure friend Beast Boy will do a marvelous job at cleaning." Starfire joined in, giggling right after. The conversations continued, drifting from cleaning to previous missions, to book and what is like to be read before returning to their previous missions. Before any of us had noticed, it was nine p.m. before Raven finally dismissed herself for meditation. Cyborg and Starfire both left, something about videogames and watching bright lights dance across the screen. And it was left to Robin, Beast Boy and I. There was no food left, even the two more dishes than normal was completely eaten. I guess that's what happens when you have three ravenous superheroes.

"So, Gem, what do you think you can gain from the Titans?" Robin asked. Beast Boy started cleaning up the table, throwing out containers and taking plates and utensils to the sink.

"What do you mean?" I wondered. He didn't respond and just looked through his mask. "What can I gain?" I took a moment to think about the days I could remember. The days with issues and the days in secrecy leading to the day of confusion and discussion. "I want. I want to be happy." The words surprised even myself. Beast Boy looked over his shoulder from the sink and Robin looked up.

"That's new. For most it is to help people, to gain control, to not hurt others." He said, clearly prying into my motives.

"Well, couldn't those be towards the same goal of being happy?" I asked. "Those reasons can all bring personal joy."

"I suppose they can," He agreed, "Anything less long term?"

"I'd like to figure out who I am. But I suppose that that can have its own problems." I toyed with the idea.

"How do you mean?"

"If I were to figure out who I was before coming to Jump City, I might spend the rest of my life atoning for what I've done." I paused for a moment. "But if I didn't find out who I was, I might never know that I was responsible for something wonderful… or terrible."

"Deep." Beast Boy added after a few seconds in silence. A minute passed before Robin spoke again.

"I've made up my mind. I want you to do some training with us and maybe go on a mission or two."

"What will happen after that?" I asked.

"Depending on your performance, maybe we will ask you to join us. Having another set of hands and powers would really benefit the Titans."

"Would it be here?"

"Depends. Right now we can fit one more, but we shift around if needed by other divisions." He explained.

"Sounds good to me. What else would I be doing?" He thanked me and got up from the table.

"Excuse me, I'm going to make some preparations. Your card will get you into the danger room and the operations room when I've made the changes."

"Just the two of us again." I looked at Beast Boy, washing the dishes. "And they know my name and a little about me. I see someone's a gossip."

"A little," he laughed, "But only really your name, what you can do, and the fact you can't remember much."

"You probably spoke to Robin too."

"Yep. I told him you weren't a terrible menace."

"Thanks for that, really." I smiled at him whether or not he would turn and see it.

"Though I did tell Cyborg more than the others. Not about you! Just about what happened last night and this morning." He was nervous as to how I'd react. I'm glad he told me though, that's something I can respect.

"Really? What did you say?"

"Just that we talked until dawn about stars and Terra and the history that you remembered."

"Terra…" I muttered, it must be the woman he described.

"I left out the penis part, the holding parts, and the crying parts."

"Lots of things that make it what it was." I was a little disappointed. Beast Boy seemed like a guy that wasn't afraid, didn't care what others thought.

"Yeah, but Cyborg's all about machismo." He turned from the sink. "I just didn't want to have to endure ridicule for something that I'm not even sure on."

"Ah." I looked away. I couldn't expect him to be solid on whatever this is when I'm not like a rock myself.

"Hey," he walked towards me, "I don't know now, but I don't think you do either." I nodded in agreement. "And that's alright. Let's enjoy the moment for the moment, and see if anything comes of it."

"Alright, just don't go touching my penis again." I blushed while laughing.

"Damn, taking away _all_ my fun." He feigned pouting, returning to the sink for the last few dishes.

"I haven't flown around today, I've been cooped up cleaning. I'll see you later." I got up and walked into the hallway, wondering about everything that just happened. I think I have gained most of their trust, I'm up for potential Titan-ing, or whatever they call it, and something's happening with Beast Boy. I got to the roof, moved to the edge, and fell again.

I pulled up sooner than before, but I also tried going faster. And faster I went, I flew above the bay and into the city. I danced between the buildings, taking great care to not hit buildings, antennae, or any other poles. I spent a few minutes doing this, testing my agility during flight. Cutting corners a little quicker, diving down under bridges and pulling up in time, and stopping a few feet before colliding into trains or traffic. The surprising thing is that it wasn't difficult. Although I had only started using my powers a short while ago, I felt comfortable and didn't feel any strain no matter what I did.

"Ah, I found you." A voice came from next to me on the building I was on.

"Beast Boy!" I smiled, "What brought you over here?"

"You said you'd be on the roof, but you didn't say you'd be on the roof in the city."

"I actually did mean the Titan roof. I must have gotten caught up with flying."

"What does it feel like? Flying in your natural form without much thought?"

"It's the best experience I could ever hope for. I love it. The wind in your hair and the ground far away. It's great." I'm sure my eyes sparkled with what I felt.

"That sounds wonderful. It's the same way with me and being an animal. I love my natural form, just look at me!" He said, striking a pose. I chuckled, he was such a carefree person. "So don't get me wrong, but being an animal just has certain freedoms."

"Here, come with me." I held out my hand for him to grab. When he did, we jumped. But we didn't just fall, I had the air catch us and keep us stable. "Now all you need to do is walk. And hold onto me, it makes it easier." And then we took our steps and we continued into the city.

"This doesn't feel much like flying."

"It's not, more like walking. Would you like to fly?

"Eventually I'd like to try it." He squeezed my hand for assurance. "But for now, this is quite unimaginable.

"I figured so." I pulled him along, "Let me show you a wonderful sight. Close your eyes and trust me."

"Always." He half-whispered, thinking I wouldn't hear it. But then we were off. I made it more than walking or running, we were in full flight. His grip tightened as he felt the speed change.

"Don't worry, just taking us out of the city for a moment." We flew for a few minutes, heading straight over the bay and into the ocean. "Here." I said, stopping our flight.

"Where are we?" He asked, opening his eyes to the sight before us.

"Just outside Jump City Bay, over the ocean and back towards the city. Here you can see the city lights in the distance, and a small amount of sun behind us. And in between, stars and ocean. Even Happernicus" I pointed to the false constellation.

"You're right, it is wonderful." But he wasn't looking up or out, he was looking at me.

"You know, you should look around when you say that."

"I could, but it would still be the truth either way."

"Sorry in advance." I didn't allow him to respond as I pulled his lips into mine. He protested for a moment until he realized exactly what was happening. There, above the blue and beneath the black, we floated and started something new. We devoured each other's energy, his deep, defined green against my lighter pink, accepting each other in an inferno of passion.

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><p><em>Things are picking up!<em>

_Screw timelines and alternating. I want to be fair but what I feel like writing isn't.  
><em>


	4. C 4: An Ordeal or Two

_Copyrights, same as previous chapters._

_I had a bit of a rating crisis. The previous chapters were well into the T rating. But things will start happening in the next few and because of that, it will remain M. However, there will be no direct writing of sex scenes. I will allude to it, and maybe even get into a little of their foreplay, but I will not be delving into MA content._

* * *

><p>That night ended in a blur. We were above the bay one minute and on the roof in another. Talking, making out, but there was always one of us pulling back and both of our eyes holding back just enough. I didn't bring up Terra; he didn't bring up my past. It felt as if the time on the roof was frozen, nothing moved and nothing existed, besides us.<p>

Piecing sunlight and the cries of gulls awoke me, confused as to why did. When I opened my eyes and saw I had a pillow of purple and black and felt an arm wrapped around me, things made more sense. The previous night wasn't a dream, and I ended up in the arms of the green shape shifter.

"You're awake." There was a soft rumbling from beneath my head.

"Just awoke."

"Good, now I don't have to devise a devious plot to get away!"

"What do you mean?"

"Just that I was getting awfully hungry and would be remise to wake you."

"Surprising, the way you ate dinner last night I figured there wasn't anything could keep you from food."

"Well, I think I found something that wasn't just anything." He smiled, looking down at me. I leaned up and caught his lips. I floating upwards, I grabbed his body and raised us to our feet without breaking the kiss. "Standing, made easy."

"Yep! Where were you thinking for breakfast?"

"Well, we don't have groceries and I wouldn't go for Rae's fruit again. How about we go shopping and then come back?"

"Why not? You sure you'll be alright until then?" I worried.

"I've gone a few days without eating before. I don't recommend it."

"Shower, get ready, fly to the store?"

"Sounds good to me." He responded, heading to the lift. "C'mon." We went down and stopped before the floor I would get off at. "This is me, see you in fifteen." And then he left the lift. Everything about being a Titan seemed different than being a normal person. I walked to my room, showered, and got ready. However, I found that I didn't have any underwear again, and decided that I just had to go out without them.

I slipped on my shirt and there was a knock at the door. "Ready to go?" The voice from Beast Boy came.

"Yeah, just finished." But he walked in the room instead of waiting for me to come out.

"Hey… uh…" he hesitated. "When we're not alone, you know, like not one-on-one, can we keep whatever this is on the down-low?"

"Being a superhero is tough, being labeled as gay would make it tougher." I responded.

"I guess, but you should be a Titan before we tell anyone, _especially_ Robin. It'll make things harder on you."

"I guess it must be fine by me then." We returned to the roof and flew to the store, him by bird and I by air. The store wasn't very crowded, but it had enough people to stare when some non-famous person flew down with a green bird. But once Beast Boy returned to his normal shape, they all realized who I must have been. We grabbed a cart and started walking around the store.

"Why don't they stare at you that much?" I asked him.

"Ah, we use this place the most for groceries. They're used to us Titans shopping around here."

"I see. It must be a bit weird when people ask for autographs."

"Nah, it's not too bad anymore. It used to be pretty crazy when we first started working. In fact," he laughed, "I thought I was such a hot shot when all the girls would come up and ask for different animals."

"Well, they don't know what they're missing." He gave me a look from the corner of his eye. "I know, but I'll probably never be able to contain the remarks." I smiled, "Not that I'd really want to."

"Asshole."

"No problem!" I said as we went to the register with our piles of food. "How do you guys pay for all of this?"

"It's a bit of an economy lesson, actually." He tried to remove my interest, but I kept staring back with an interested expression. "We save people, which in itself is very rewarding, but we have bills and living costs too. Not to mention the damages when catching bad guys." He presented his Titan card to the register when asked. "But really, it's more than that. Depending on how much damage we accidentally deal, we also provide a large number of jobs just to fix it."

"Odd. What stops you from damaging property on purpose?"

"That's something the Titans and the city regulate together." He paused to help the bagger before continuing. "If it's suspected more damage was dealt than absolutely necessary, a Titan from a different precinct will come and head up an investigation. But that rarely happens as it takes up more time and resources than just fixing the issue would."

I joined in with bagging; we had a lot of groceries to deal with. "But what if no damage comes to the city?"

"There's a bounty on most known villains if they're not in jail, and whichever city they're captured in the city gets the bounty."

"The city gets it?" I had gotten lost somewhere, I'm sure.

"Yeah, superheroes don't deal directly with money." We both exited the supermarket, most of the bags in hand with a few floating around me. "This is a lot easier to carry with you around."

"What about those with secret identities?"

"Ah, then they could, but their hero persona wouldn't."

"So then how did you just afford groceries now?"

"I didn't. The system recognizes certain inputs, for us in Jump City it's our access cards, for others it's mere verification of working in a specific organization, and authorizes us to take that which we need in order to keep providing services to the city." He changed into a pterodactyl, grabbing the bags in his talons. And then we took off, flying back to the tower.

We returned to the kitchen, still in mostly pristine condition. Some dishes were left drying, but at least they are clean.

"What's on the menu?"

"I was going to cook something with tofu, teach you how to cook it."

"You sure?" I asked poking the packaging it came in. "Looks pretty sickening to me."

"Yeah, just need to-" He was straining to open it when his communicator made a noise. "Damn it, training session."

"Bring Gem." Robin's voice came.

"But we haven't eaten."

"Doesn't matter," he quickly placed the tofu back, "As Robin says: Titans always need to be able to fight."

"Alright, time to practice… How do you guys practice?"

"You'll see." He said, bringing me with him up the lift. After a card swipe, we entered a large rectangular room with what appeared to be circuitry running throughout the walls, floor, and ceiling.

"Ah, you're here. This is our danger room, where we sometimes train and potential heroes are tested. Here you will fight programmed enemies and encounter different scenarios. They will be controlled from up in the control room, there." He pointed to a large section of the wall that must have been a dark tinted glass. "The first round will be simple combat against dummies; the point is to figure out just what you can do." With that Beast Boy and Robin went through a door that I didn't notice until now.

"So... What do I do?" I asked, moving around the room after they left.

"Engage Combat One. Just hit, incapacitate, maim, or destroy the dummies, they won't fight back." As soon as Robin finished his sentence, the room hummed with energy. The walls disappeared and the floor became a forest green. Blue and red colored humanoid shapes popped up all over, some moving towards me and others not moving at all. I danced through them, landing blows while moving. I didn't touch my powers while doing this, trusting my body to fight. And so it did, the dummies were easily damaged and would've been severely hurt if they were human. Just as they appeared, they disappeared.

"Engage Combat Two. Evade and block." Raven's voice appeared. Again, the blue and red figures came, but this time they moved at me. Avoiding them was easy; none of them seemed to have particular training.

"Part Two, intermediate maneuvers." Her voice came back. It startled me for a moment and I hesitated long enough to almost get hit.

"Close!" I yelled, carrying on with the exercise. It was just as easy as the other one, they were slightly faster but I had no need to use my powers again.

"Advanced maneuvers, engage powers." Cyborg's voice came. This time I had to work and my body could feel the wear. I was blocking more than evading, but I was hoping to get past this level without using my powers. Suddenly, however, there were figures that were flying, had blasts, and could move very quickly. I think there were other figures that could do other things, but I was focused on not getting hit. This went on longer than the other two rounds, but I wouldn't give up.

"Expert maneuvers, engage powers."

"But if he gets-" Robin gave the command and Beast Boy was trying to argue when the speaker cut out. Immediately things got extremely difficult. There were all sorts of powers and there were figures that imitated the Titans' powers. As soon as an extremely fast one came into the fray, I used my powers. I stayed low to the ground to keep the distance between me and any flying enemies at the maximum. But I skated just above the ground, moving as fast as I could around the room.

As the time went on, more figures were added. A couple seemed to know various styles of fighting and I didn't stand a chance in direct battle while others used ranged projectiles and could fly. I eventually got hit, I don't exactly remember from where or what, but the blow was enough to fling me back twenty feet and I landed on my back, ripping my shirt and the pants I was wearing.

"Disengage!" Came the command as soon as I was hit away. "Three minutes, next test."

I stood up, tired and hurting from that last hit. There wasn't much I could do, so I waited in silence. The three minutes ticked by slowly, so I sat and waited. I hoped that they didn't have an expert mode for whatever was coming next.

"Engage Combat Three, advanced maneuvers." Starfire sent this command, and the figures came. I started using my powers right away, but conservatively in order to preserve energy for what I assumed was coming. Blasting figures back, avoiding others, and using air to enhance punches and kicks for that extra 'oomph.' I fought for at least five minutes and during that time I was almost hit numerous times, but I just barely dodged or blocked in order to keep fighting. But I was getting slower and slower as the time continued.

"Expert maneuvers, engage." It was Beast Boy's voice, but it sounded like he just lost an argument. I flung off the torn shirt, it wasn't going to do much anyway, and of course, the figures responded as they turned up the difficulty. I flew along the ground again, kicking, punching, and dodging. I was fine against the ones in melee; occasionally a lighter attack got through, but since I was also on offense it wasn't too difficult. All it took was a good blast and the right timing to take them out. But against the ranged, I could only dodge. Maybe a minute into the drill I remembered about the first night on the roof, when I put up the barrier. I flew higher and quickly did the motions that I did that night. Just as I did, the barrier flew up around me. I kept it about fifteen feet away, but I was encircled by it. I saw the figures jump up to hit me or blast me out of the sky, but as each on hit the barrier it didn't seem to get phased.

I took the seconds I had to breathe. It had been a tiring time in this room and I wasn't sure how much more I had to do. I tried to see if I could move the barrier, and I could, so I tried flying around with it. As none of the blasts seem to come through the barrier, I started out slowly. As I grew more confident, I flew fast and faster, focusing on the flying figures that could attack from ranged. Eventually I flew lower to the ground in order to wipe out some land units that would try to attack as well. But then something happened. The figures that were close stopped and appeared to ready ranged attacks and shortly they all attacked at the same time, blasts impacting the barrier together. The barrier broke and the collected explosion with a few off-timed strikes blew me back. For some reason, nothing came up and attacked right away.

Until I saw something in the distance. There was a black figure in the back readying some sort of large weapon. I tried to throw blasts at it, but there was no way to stop it from releasing what appeared to be a missile. I threw blasts at it, trying to make it explode, focused a barrier into a wall that it hit, but smashed through in one piece. I had given up, and hoped they would end the simulation. I wiped the sweat of my brow and flicked it to the ground. However, I also flicked a line of air. It made a gash in the changed ground that looked like I tried to slice it with a sword.

I did it a few more times, flying farther and farther away from the missile before testing this new ability on it. I summoned all I could and flung two slices of air at it, falling to the ground exhausted. I watched as the projectiles neared each other and came closer and closer until impact. But there was no impact, just the missile flying straight through the slices. I couldn't give up, I couldn't die here. Not when I had just felt a real connection with someone else. I took all the air around me and created a tunnel of the fasting moving winds that I could they blasted at the missile, trying to slow it down or move it off course. But nothing would stop it and nothing would stop me. I did everything I could think of against the missile. I continued the air with my breath, punched it with the other, and sliced it with my other. Nothing would stop me. Except for the missile, which showed no sign of slowing as it came into my face an-

"Test terminated." The voice was computerized and seemed to be coming from the missile. I kneeled down and felt half dead. The door to the watching chamber opened and in trotted the Titans.

"But I've never seen readings like this! Not even Raven has put up a barrier for that long on expert maneuvers!" Cyborg was holding sheets of paper, staring at them.

"True, our new friend's control was quite astounding! He even passed the defensive advanced level with using his powers!" It was Starfire's turn to chime in.

"For being new to this whole power thing," Beast Boy gave his two cents, "you have the raw power and control of a very experienced superhero."

"Yes, but as I confirmed earlier, his offensive abilities are his strongest while maneuverability comes as a close second. If he gets focused down with multiple hits in a short time, he can't withstand them very well. And if he does get hit with a single moderate hit, it will probably knock him out of battle for a few seconds." Robin was talking in a very matter-of-fact tone, but I didn't have too much energy to argue.

"What," I gasped, "what was that... was that missile thing?" I pointed to where it stopped.

"The real test." Cyborg informed me.

"The previous tests are meant to see how you will do in a fight. In fact, you did very well on the defensive course by simply evading a lot." Robin continued the explanation.

"And the first course is mainly a warm-up, gets your blood flowing." Beast Boy chimed in.

"But the missile is something everyone faces once. Those who have done this before know it is coming, so we need not face it." Starfire added.

"It is not affected by anything you do besides running away. But that will only delay the inevitable of the exam for a short while. Anything you throw,"

"Think of,"

"Do,"

"Say,"

"Or want," Raven started with Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy added one by one.

"Will not matter." Raven finished their thought.

"It is so that you keep fighting until you can't stop," Beast Boy spoke, "because if you don't, your teammate's lives will be in danger."

"Did I get the job?" I asked, smiling at the five.

"Although your performance was exceptional, no, not yet." Robin stated.

"Ah, well, can I at least get a hand up?"

"Of course!" Starfire grabbed my shoulder and lifted me to my feet. "There you are!"

"Thanks." I coughed, not expecting the sudden movement or pain she caused.

"We're done for today, practice resumes tomorrow." Robin informed everyone, taking the pages from Cyborg's hands.

"So it was just to watch me?"

"Yep, and it was pretty good." Raven commented, walking out as she did so.

"Tomorrow will be more of a test though, things will be rough." Cyborg patted me on the back and then quickly grabbed my shoulder to stabilize me; I wasn't very stable after that test. "You're completely wiped, aren't you?" I nodded, not wanting to speak the words. I was embarrassed Beast Boy would be seeing me in this state, but it was inevitable with the way the test was to be performed.

"Let's go get that food we were going to cook." Beast Boy said, appearing under my arm to help me walk.

"Oh, I could slorphesh a wonderful kle'venal in order for us to have!"

"Do I want to know what she just said?" I asked meekly.

"Not really." He whispered. "That's alright Starfire, we went shopping earlier today."

"Oh, so you do not wish for kle'venal?" Starfire responded.

"No. Uh, thanks!" I tried to be as positive as I could. She walked out of the room, a smile on her face almost the same as she always had.

"How about you go to your room and shower, you've had too much happen to you today. I'll cook and if Cyborg wants to finally see what he's been missing..." Beast Boy raised his eyebrows at his friend.

"No way little man, I told you before; if there's tofu, I'm out." Cyborg commented, waving and leaving the room.

"I guess that just leaves me to shower, have fun cooking!" I shuffled, much, much more slowly than I wanted, but not able to change a thing. I moved into the hallway and next to the lift. I had had so much thrown at me that I was ready to collapse. I went to the shower, unaware that I had not taken any change of clothes, or towel, with me. I took a long, hot shower to alleviate the tension in my muscles while noting the bruises on my hands, arms, chest and legs. I ended the shower to step out and realize my mistake. I didn't have enough energy to use my powers to air dry, so I stumbled into the room really quickly to grab a towel.

"Oh Jesus!" Beast Boy exclaimed as I walked into the room. He was sitting on the bed with what appeared to be two empty bowls, a plate with a large mound of white, and a big bowl of food. There was a pungent smell of something that I couldn't put a finger on. I couldn't name the smell, but it had to be coming from the food.

"I just forgot a towel." I said; tip-toeing as quickly as I could over to the vanity where I had left the towel. "Not like you haven't seen it before."

"True, but normal people don't go parading showing everyone their dick."

"I noticed you haven't stopped watching though." I commented, drying myself nonchalantly.

"Well. I. Uh." He stammered, hand scratching the back of his head trying to think of something.

"It's alright," I had put the towel around my waist while getting closer to him, "No harm done." I pushed him back on the bed, leaned over him, and dug my arm between his back and the bed spread. "It's just a penis." I taunted him, grabbing his other green hand in mine and kissing him on the mouth. And that's where we stayed for a few minutes, spread out over half the bed, making out and not thinking of anything else. When I shifted slightly, however, I hit both of us with some wet hair and I felt something that was hard on him that I hadn't the previous night. I backed off; knowing that if we went further neither of us would be able to stop.

"Sorry for the hair." I turned a bit pink and quickly went back to the dresser and grabbed some clothes. "Be right back out."

Beast Boy sighed as I went into the bathroom to change. He knew that I stopped for both of us, so I could get into the Titans easier and he could think of something to say to his comrades. I had the towel around my neck to stop my hair from possibly dripping too much and stepped out to see a bed with one less person on it. The food, spoons, and the empty bowls were still on the bed though; I assume Beast Boy stepped out for a moment and will be back soon. His eyes never seem to leave for very long, why should he?

I lay down next to the food, stirring the bowl to try to make out what was in it. It was a brown sauce with brown-stained chunks of what must be tofu and various vegetables that were all mixed together. Sure enough, the smell in the room was coming from the sauce. I think I may actually end up liking this dish. The white mound was a pile of rice. Beast Boy returned, as I expected, but he was cupping his hand as if holding something small.

"You're back. They always come back." I joked, trying to get better look at what was in his hand.

"I came back for the food, don't get me wrong." He smiled, making a go for the food.

"That's okay. That's why I'm letting you stay."

"So you think." He gave me what was in his hand, a small white pill. "What's this?"

"Just something to help you heal." He poked some bruises as he sat down.

"Ah!" I exclaimed at the unwanted pain.

He took the bowl and put rice in it and ladled some into a bowl before handing it to me. "It's a mixture of herbs that used to be found on Tamaran and medicine from Earth. Rae and Cy both help make it while Star got some of the ingredients."

"And it won't kill me?" I looked at him sideways.

"Oh no, the poison will do that." He waved his own spoon at me.

"Oh good, I was worried!" We shared a laugh and he moved the large bowl of food to the middle of the bed and lay down next to me and it. I took the pill and swallowed it, but was sure to follow it up quickly with the mixture. It was a small spoonful, but did have a little bit of tofu. And it was full of flavor and packed a bit of heat.

"Oh my god! What is this?" I asked shoving more in my mouth than I thought possible.

"Traditionally, it's called 'Karē-Raisu,' Curry Rice, in Japan, but this isn't Japan nor traditional." He was looking at me and I got the feeling he wasn't talking just about the food. "But it's curry, a rather mild one too, and I put veggies and tofu in it." He took a multiple spoonfuls himself. "And poison!"

"The best ingredient!" I chuckled, putting more food into my mouth. It was strange; I couldn't actually stop eating this food. Soon enough we both were filling our second bowl, and we just kept eating and eating. We only stopped when there wasn't any left, setting the bowls and plate down on the ground. There was a moment of near silence as we both sighed in enjoyment. He grabbed me and pulled me close, but we were interrupted by a certain noise from his communicator.

"Ops room." Came the call from Robin.

"Guess that means you got to go." I said, moving away to let him get up.

"Yeah," he got up, but leaned over to give me a quick kiss. "He'd probably bring you along with what we saw today, but you need your rest after that missile."

"I understand, I wouldn't be of much use right now anyway." I raised the pitch of my voice and was exceedingly overdramatic.

"Besides cleaning, I don't think you've got a use!" He chuckled, grabbing the bowls and plate.

"Well, I might as well be of use later. Leave them there, I'll get them. Go save the world."

"Damn, I guess I have to now." He waved as he walked from the room.

"Be safe." I waved back and he nodded, making a silent promise as he couldn't speak it aloud in case he couldn't fulfill it. I spent the rest of the evening in bed, day dreaming about being a Titan and being with a specific Titan. It felt as if dreams could come true here, and I thought of that as I fell asleep.

I awoke slowly, some light pouring in from the small opening in the curtains. I shifted in bed, turning on my side to escape the light with little luck. I reluctantly got up and started for the bathroom, expecting pain at every move. However, the pain and bruises seemed to be mostly gone. As long as I didn't press directly on the bruise, there was no real issue. The pill must have worked; it seemed to amplify normal healing. I had full range of motion back and felt reenergized. When I was done in the bathroom, I walked out to see the dishes sitting right in front of the bed, where I left them. I had forgotten to clean them the previous night.

I groaned, knowing that I'd be doing some more cleaning today, but quickly changed before heading down to the kitchen. I was careful not to wear anything too clingy, I'd have to go into practice again and it would sure be an issue to be wearing poorly fitted clothes for the occasion. The tower was boring with no one around. Tons of metal had to have gone into building it, but nothing really made it feel inviting.

I took the time to clean the dishes I had brought along with the dishes that had apparently piled up. I groaned in displeasure while doing it, but I'd rather have it clean now than pile up later. I grabbed an apple and a banana after I dried the dishes, Beast Boy and I made sure we had enough in order to not piss off Raven.

I decided to go walking around the tower some while eating, try to see what others are up to. I passed by the infirmary, but of course no one was there. Then the game room, ops room, kitchen/dining room again, and finally, the gym. There I found Robin, diligently working away.

"Came to work out before practice?" He asked, looking at me while doing some chin-ups. He was half naked and I was trying desperately to not watch his workout.

"Nah, just wandering around. It gets a bit boring here." I took a bite of my apple, making sure to not get juice on any equipment.

"There's usually at least four or five of us here, so I've never really noticed it."

"I feel that we're in a big metal cage, and that cage is designed to keep us apart."

"Never thought of it that way, but I still don't see it."

"Ah, to each their own." I was munching on the apple still. "When," I paused to swallow a large chunk of apple, "When is the course starting?"

"I was actually thinking of starting it soon so everyone could have more of a day off than yesterday." He explained.

"Alright, sounds nice. What about if" Sure enough, as I was about to say 'an alert on the communicator comes up,' Robin's went off.

"Well, this is our practice for today I guess. You're with us." He dropped the dumbbells and grabbed the rest of his uniform and ran out ahead of me.

I followed him up to the ops room, a place I have not been allowed entry to before. It was larger than I expected, probably because it appears to be used as a common room as well. There was a large display at one end with three titans already sitting by the front screen, Robin standing in front. Being a leader must have its perks, but standing for briefings would probably become a pain. I sat down with ample space between myself and the other three. The only one missing was the green one.

"Quick overview. Billy numerous has somehow escaped prison and he's robbed the Bank of Pérez. Let's go." Everyone had gotten up and quickly moved to the roof. Beast Boy arrived just a moment after everyone else.

"Seriously BB, we're going to get you a map." Cyborg chuckled, making fun of his friend.

"Yeah, yeah." He turned into a hawk, and started flying towards the city. Soon Raven had Cyborg in some black power, and they were off. Starfire had grabbed Robin by the waist and I followed the five, all flying towards the center of the city. It took then a minute, each of us flying at near full speed. It wasn't long before we reached the bank, however there was a swarm of red coming out of it. Looking again, it must have been one person multiplied over and over.

"So that's Billy Numerous. What a stupid name." I commented, slowing down above the bank.

"Block his paths; we can't let him get away. Gem, you get any stragglers." Robin ordered, soon each Titan had a street that led away from the bank. Robin was using light explosives and his combat prowess to keep a lot at bay. Raven was continually pushing back wave after wave of clones with large black sheets of her powers. Starfire and Cyborg were blasting and punching while Beast Boy was changing into a myriad of animals in order to keep up with the high demand of multiples coming into his area.

At once I noticed a large stack of multiples climbing higher and higher towards the top of the buildings. _Guess this is where I shine._ I thought as I pushed and pulled towers and towers of clones away from buildings. It looked like everything was going well; all of his clones were being maintained. But I couldn't put my finger on something that was seemed off. I kept my distance from Billy, but continued my work. I flew over to Raven who just finished thrust another wave back.

"Something is off."

"I know what you mean." She spat, getting ready for another sheet in a few second. "They just keep trying to escape, but with nowhere to go."

"Yeah," I pulled two more towers down. "This is a bank heist, right?"

"The aftermath of one." She took a sharp breath in realizing what it meant. "That means-"

"Where's the money?" I finished our thought.

"Take this road for a second; I need to talk to Robin." I diverted attention from the towers to the waves of Billy's coming at me. I landed amidst a few clones, and proceeded to grab their collars and fling them over my shoulders. Soon, the rest that were past me were back near the bank. I punched, flung, ducked, air-blasted, and placed a few barriers before Raven came back.

"We're heading into the Bank, ignore these ones and look for the main Billy." She instructed.

"Which one is the main one?"

"The one giving orders the most and arguing with some clones. He should also have the money, which none of these appear to have."

"Good to hear." We flew off over the many Billy duplicated to get to the bank, there we met the others near the bank.

"We haven't seen any of them with money, let's go in." Robin commanded, oddly enough since that was the plan anyway. We fought our way in, few of the clones resisted with most of them just trying to run outward. As we reached the vault, it was obvious the problem that we had getting the money. There was a large hole in the side of the vault leading to somewhere that was exceedingly smelly.

"The sewers, let's go." Robin was curt. It was very obnoxious while on missions, him constantly barking at us. Sure enough, everyone filed into it, covering their mouths as best as they could. I quickly forced a barrier up over my nose and mouth and, surprisingly, it held the stench at bay. We traversed the sewers as fast as we could, moving to catch up with Billy as soon as possible. Something was nagging at me again, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I'm sure it was nothing, I was lucky once.

We continued following something, I think Cyborg had something to track footprints or some sort of signature that he must have left behind. Running or flying, depending on the powers, for what appeared to be a mile. We found a few bills here and there but we didn't stop until we saw a bunch of red movement down in the tunnels.

"Stop pushing me."

"I can barely move with how packed we are."

"Shut up, they'll know where we are."

All of the voices were the same, it was Billy. It was odd that he didn't continue moving though.

"Stop right there Billy!" Robin shouted, always first to take control.

"You're lucky their late, you'll be getting a show anytime now."

"I'm sure it'll be a smash." The Billies retorted

"A show, the only show you'll get is the one in jail." Cyborg retorted. But of course as soon as he finished, the wall in between the groups were smashed open and in came a large, hulking, red headed male and a short, bald thing with small wings came rushing in.

"I told you it was the house on the left at the marker and not a right, you're useless!" The small one shouted in his high voice. The large one looked around at our shocked faces and quickly grunted in recognition.

"Aw Hell! I was sure they would fall for the decoys."

"They almost did, just got here."

"C'mon, let's go!" The large one grunted, and they were off soon after.

"Block 'em in, Raven!" Robin yelled, darting after them a moment after. She quickly flew in front of us to the broken down wall and muttered her words of power.

"Agh!" The large one cried, smashing into the black force field, he then started beating on it with his fists.

"Hurry up! I can't hold it forever!"

"Right!" Starfire answered for everyone. We all moved forward, Cyborg first. He rounded corner and blindly shot a bit into the hole.

"Watch it, you might hit the money!" Beast Boy called, running in as a cheetah but a large 'thud' a moment after made me believe that he wasn't a cheetah anymore.

"Stay back, don't let them through." He ordered me, thinking I wouldn't be a team player. But I did as I was told; I waited at the entrance of the hole, watching the team work their magic on the three bad guys. However it wasn't going so well. It appears Beast Boy had hit the wall too hard and was currently trying to get his gorilla arm out of the wall. The small, ugly thing on wings that was zooming around threw something towards him and he quickly shifted into an armadillo and rolled up into a ball. Next thing that happened was a large explosion, and he was on the ground.

"Beast Boy!" I called out, but the bomb wasn't just an explosive. Soon the whole basement area was full of smoke. More noises of explosions thuds came from inside the room. Raven grunted, as the sound of pounding on glass came from the room.

"Stop standing around!" Raven scolded.

"Shit!" I summoned the power I could, and blew the smoke out of the room, making sure to have the wind more forcefully enter than exit.

"What the hell?"

"Smells like shit!"

"Who crapped?" The Billies exclaimed. As the room was revealed, Raven and I could see that the four Titans were on the ground, Cyborg and Beast Boy apparently unconscious and Robin and Starfire bolted to the wall. As the small thing readied a gun towards me, he and Billy stopped and stared. Oddly, they were all wearing small gas masks and goggles.

"Uh, Mammoth?" The annoyingly high voice came as he kicked back to hit the large man's leg. "Look." Soon they all stood staring at me, just watching what I'd do. I stepped forward slowly, and they responded with a step back. I continued until they were against the black barrier.

"So… what're you going to do?" I asked, feigning that I recognized them. The Billies dropped the sacks of money, the short one went to some on-his-arm computer and soon Robin and Starfire were freed, and the one that must have been Mammoth fell to his knees. Robin was on them in an instant, cuffing and placing weird wristbands on them. As he finished, I noticed Starfire was at Cyborg's side, so I moved to Beast Boy.

He appeared to be breathing, but it was shallow breaths. I wasn't sure if he could hear me and he was starting to convulse everywhere. Cyborg was doing the same, but I didn't care too much about him.

"Come on." I muttered but a few seconds passed without any changes, "You!" I pointed at the short one. "What's wrong with him?" He shook a little, but he didn't answer. "Don't make me hurt you." I sneered, ignoring the strange looks I was getting from the moving Titans.

"Poison, from the bomb. It will affect these two as well in a bit." His voice only seemed to rise higher in his fear. I just continued to scowl at him, wanting him to spill everything. "Antidote is in my pack, lower left on the back, there's a button; it opens a small pouch with vials in it!"

"If you're lying…"

"I wouldn't I swear!" Robin clicked the button and grabbed four vials and gave one to me and kept the others for his teammates. I moved to Beast Boy and cradled his head while pouring the serum down his throat. I never once broke eye contact with him, hoping that just looking would make it better. He coughed soon and the convulsions stopped.

"Good, now I won't have to hurt you." I stared at the small squirming thing.

"Starfire, go with Gem back to the tower with Beast Boy and Cyborg. Raven and I will turn these guys in and inform them of the problems with the sewers." He gave me a look that I couldn't place. It was somewhere between a scowl and gratitude, but it scared me a bit.

We all went up through the building Raven, Robin, and the villains first. Starfire moved to pick up Cyborg, but I stopped her just before she could.

"Let me." I said, using the winds to lift both of them off of the ground. We moved up the stairs and out the door to the street. Here she took a deep breath in and I removed the small barrier from across my face, glad to be out of the sewers. Then we took off, in silence, flying to the tower. The tension was palpable, Starfire was completely silent. But that was alright as I took both of our charges to the tower, watching the green body rise and fall gently with each breath.

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><p><em>Writing, fun! Got the inspiration to write back. Muses, you are fickle beings.<em>


	5. C 5: Torture

_Copyrights=not me._

_I'm still working on rewriting previous chapters. They're becoming surprisingly long._

_Much shorter chapter this time, for reasons that you'll see._

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><p>The night continued uneventfully; I made some dinner for myself, checked on Beast Boy, flew around the bay, and then ended up sleeping in the room I was given. I didn't speak to anyone, but no one appeared to be around anyway. I remember falling asleep and a pain on my neck during the night, but it was otherwise uneventful.<p>

I woke up to blinding lights that couldn't have been coming from the lights where I slept. I had to blink multiple times in order to regain any amount of vision. Squinting, I realized that I was somewhere inside, familiar. I stood up, realizing I was dressed in some weird skin-tight black outfit rather than just the pajama pants that I had fallen asleep in. I heard a voice, and soon there were people running at me. Their hostile actions were easily read, but and some of them were dispatched quickly. Some others were more experienced and they got a few blows in my ribs and legs. I grunted, for some reason my abilities seemed to be inhibited and I was much more groggy than normal, something was slowing me down.

Eventually the sheer number of people was too much, I no chance against them. After being bloodied and bound, I was dragged. I'm not sure how long, how far, or to where, but I had been thrown into a chair.

"So, you showed up." A deep voice said. I couldn't see anything besides the bright light shining in my face. Closing my eyes was all I could do to stop a little bit of pain.

"What took you so long? Fear? Fun? Thought we'd forget?" The interrogation was terrible, they wanted information and I wouldn't be surprised if I was the only one who had it.

"I see you joined up with the Titans. We've got one of them with us too." I don't think so. "Hopefully you can help us out a bit." Nothing, not a word. They needed me alive for the information.

"So it's just a matter of time until one of you talks. You or your green friend." I felt as if I was going to scream. I did the best I could to hold any recognition of Beast Boy, and it apparently worked.

"So," the voice continued, "what's the inside of the tower like? I want details." I could feel pressure against my upper arm, it was cold and flat. I still said nothing and stared into the back of my eyelids. "Nothing?" Soon the flat object ran across my arm and I could feel warmth running down my arm. "I ask and if you don't answer, you get cut."

"Once again, inside of Titan Tower, what's it like?" Physical harm wouldn't deter my thoughts, and sure enough he cut me. This time it was on the forearm and the back of the hand. "Let's try something else. Do they have any weaknesses?" Even If they did, I had no way of knowing. But the cuts came and I grunted in pain.

"A noise! We're getting somewhere!" He didn't ask a question, nor did he cut me. Instead, he threw me out of the chair and kicked me in the stomach. I couldn't do anything but cough.

"Now tell me! What are their weaknesses?" He shouted. Waiting only a single second, he continued the beating. He stopped, said something on a device, and two other men came and dragged me out. A sharp pain happened on my neck again and my vision blurred quickly. I was tossed into a cell and forgotten for too long; it felt like days. My vision mostly cleared and I was about to try to looking around when the guy with a deep voice came back.

"Your friend talked, but I'm sure you'll confirm the things he said in a moment." Beast Boy talked? I didn't believe it. He probably had training to deal with torture and interrogation. Hands came and dragged me again, my wounds may have stopped bleeding, but I had no way of knowing. It felt like it had been days. Again I was thrown into a chair, I could feel the blinding light on my face, but I could see. I was sure to not show anything. Soon I saw a green figure hanging across the room.

I instantly struggled, betraying my own mind. They knew they hit a nerve. "Oh, you care about your friend. How sweet." He flicked his wrist and Beast Boy was dropped from his lofty height. They dragged him over to me by the chains he was suspended by. I realized his hands weren't bound; they had put the hooks into his back. I struggled again, but whatever I was drugged with stopped me from even being able to stand up. I still struggled though, with all I could. A swift kick to Beast Boy's side awoke him from whatever pain coma he was in. He looked up at me and shook his head, eyes fiercely fixed on mine. They hadn't broken him.

"Torture him until he talks." Footsteps walked out, but I wouldn't take my eyes off Beast Boy. However, it wasn't me they were going to physically torture. They forced his head back and put a towel over Beast Boy's nose and mouth and soon water was being poured over it. I struggled as much as I could, but I'm not sure it would really matter. I stayed silent and locked eyes with him whenever they gave him a break. It wasn't enough, I wouldn't talk. They changed from water boarding to shocking him. A simple sponge and a car battery were enough to do what they wanted. He cried and convulsed in pain and I stayed stoic, watching it all. I wanted to cry, to scream, to kill all of these bastards. But whatever drug they were using, it was working well.

After what seemed like hours of watching Beast Boy get tortured, the deep voiced man came back. "Anything?" Some torturers shook their heads. He was aggravated; he took out a gun and pointed it at my head. "Last chance. Talk or you die." I shook my head and stared at his legs. He had walked in between Beast Boy and me. He took one final look at me, took a step to the side, and shot Beast Boy in the head. I screamed in rage, but my body betrayed me again. I tried getting up, throwing people against walls, and destroying everything I could and instead fell to the floor. Luckily my arm seemed to reach out to Beast Boy's body.

"This is over. Talk or you're next." His threat meant nothing, he meant nothing. I did the only thing I could do, stare at Beast Boy.

"Kill me, now." I advised him. "If you don't, you'll mess up keeping me contained. And when you do, you'll all die. Every. Single. One." He laughed and turned to me.

"Your wish..." And then there was a bang of the gun.

_How I love cliffhangers._


End file.
